There has been some discussion some time back over at the blog call Choosing Hats on whether or not The Master Seminary actually teaches Van Tillian Presuppositional apologetics. (For those of you who might not be aware, Choosing Hats is probably one of the most active blogs dealing with Van Tillian apologetics today.) Does The Master’s Seminary teaches Presuppositionalism? I would say the answer is–yes!

Here are the lectures by Dr. Michael Vlach, an associate professor of theology at TMS. This seems to be given a few years ago (2008, since the professor in Lectures 12 mentioned that his book was just published a month ago, which was printed in 2008 by Crossway).

And all those disciplines (apologetics, theology, hermeneutics) all inter-relate! It’s beautiful seeing how things are all interconnected in a world that is unified because God is the ultimate basis for unity and diversity!

I’m trying to get a good handle on presup, and listened to Jason Lisle on the subject (plus reading his book “The Ultimate Proof of Creation”), so I was glad to see this series. But I don’t like sitting in front of the monitor for 17 90-minute or so lectures. So I get sneaky: Use a YouTube audio downloader and listen to MP3s. And since the mind can process things at a faster clip, I accelerate the playback speed so I have time for my other podcasts, too. Oh, and the faster setting does not make people sound like chipmunks.

Hey brother,
Maybe you can help me out as well: Do you have a Youtube audio downloarder software downloaded or is there somewhere you can do it all online? That would be beneficial for me than sit and watch something–I do most of my listening on the road, and do the same thing you do by playing it faster to save time!
What other Presuppostionalists or resources by Presuppositionalist have you been exposed to?
If there is any questions, feel free to asks us (not that we know it all, but just another pilgrim on the road!).
Blessings! Come back again!

There are a few Web downloaders for YouTube, but the one I use is “Keep Vid” at KeepVid dot com. The main page gives you software to download, but I use the bookmarklet at the top and just click on that on my browser when I need something. There are various formats, but I use the “Convert to MP3” for lectures.

If there’s a misfire, you can download the video and then extract the audio with software like AoA Audio Extractor.

My other Presup influences (“Hey, PreSUP, Dude?”) are few. I’ve watched some videos and things, but I realize that I’ve been gradually corrupted to the dark side — I mean, influenced to a better method — through Biblical creationists like Answers In Genesis, Creation Ministries International and such.

Some Presuppositionalists have really put me off. They get prideful and heavy-handed, sneering at the use of evidentialism at all. I think Jason Lisle has an excellent explanation and approach, as I mentioned earlier. And Video 12, I want to get the book that was mentioned.

In the end, it comes down to methodology. This is the crucial issue. In every case of methods gone astray you will always see the following; a naive view of sin (hamartiology). Epistemology must be governed by hamartiology. I would add, when separating from the church (para-church or specialized ministry) will almost always get out of balance. All of apologetics must be within the church and rooted in solid bible teaching. The bible unfolds and covenantal or presuppositional method. Lastly, understanding the root of shame is essential in all people. People ask questions that must be filtered by who they really are, lost and searching for an identity (to be masculine or feminine, man or woman). This makes apologetics extremely practical and powerful.